‘Meaningless friendlies’ mean a lot to Kerr

THE contrast in the quality of the entertainment provided by Ireland’s two representative teams last week could not have been more extreme.

On the one hand you had Munster playing their part in what has been described by respected judges as the most exciting club rugby game in history, against Wasps.

On the other, you had Ireland's international team playing out a featureless scoreless draw with Poland in Bydgoszcz.

The thought inevitably occurred would Munster, in retrospect, have preferred to have played in a less flamboyant, less spectacular match in which the result was reversed?

The rugby match I enjoyed on TV, and if you could divorce yourself from your natural allegiance then you could not have wished for more. It provided memorable entertainment. You were assailed repeatedly by a whole gamut of emotions as the titanic struggle swayed one way and then the other in a bewildering sequence. The sympathy you felt for Munster was tempered by the belief that the better team had won.

The football match in Poland did not rate as an entertainment by comparison. There were scarcely half-a-dozen shots at goal and it was low-key in the extreme.

It is unjust, however, to make comparisons. The rugby match was deadly serious, played out by two teams at a peak of preparedness, driven by uninhibited ambition.

Brian Kerr's Ireland were engaged in a much different exercise, in which entertainment was not a factor. This is not to suggest, of course, that Munster set out to entertain; the point is that entertainment was never going to be a by-product of what Ireland were attempting to do.

The bottom line is that Kerr's game plan was never designed to encourage a game that would have been extravagant in any sense. It is too early in the development stages of Kerr's Ireland for that.

The match against Poland had to be approached in a pragmatic way. Kerr is still developing a relationship with the international players, many of whom he would not have worked with prior to his appointment as manager of the senior team a little more than 12 months ago.

He must prove to those players that he has the tactical wit to develop a winning game plan; that he has the ability to evaluate and counter opposition tactics; and that he can help them contribute to a winning performance. In other words, he must win their confidence.

It figured that the emphasis in Poland had to be on not losing the game. Ireland will lose, of course, but every friendly match that produces an acceptable result represents another brick in the wall. It would be disastrous at this point in the development if Ireland were to lose heavily.

Kerr's position was compromised by so many withdrawals. He was forced to send out a very inexperienced midfield and this would also have forced a conservative game plan upon him.

In consequence Ireland scarcely showed as an attacking force. It was not a day to judge the strikers, Clinton Morrison (Birmingham) and Alan Lee (Cardiff), for they were largely left to fend for themselves.

So what, you may ask, was the purpose in playing this match at all? Was it just another 'meaningless friendly' of the sort that Ferguson, Wenger and co rail against?

The answer has to be no.

There is no such thing as a meaningless friendly if you are manager of an international team or a player hoping to win a place in that team.

You can bet that Ferguson was not so dismissive of friendly internationals when he was manager of Scotland. He knows in his heart that friendly games provide the adhesive that binds a team together, that enables them develop a relationship, builds understanding in their teamwork and nurtures a team spirit.

It was not meaningless for Brian Kerr who proved to his players that he can select a balanced team and provide them with a game plan effective enough to produce a result away from home no mean feat.

It was not meaningless for Steven Reid, playing his first full international match in more than two years.

It was not meaningless for Andy Reid, whose imaginative passing ability will prove an important weapon for Ireland if he can develop his game to the required level over the next few months.

It was not meaningless for Liam Miller or Alan Lee, two players starting a senior international match for the first time and learning to cope with the emotional and physical challenge at this level.

Any assessment of Ireland's trip to Poland and of Brian Kerr's latest assignment has to carry an appendix that says: progress reported.

Kerr's search for a winning team will continue for some time yet. Meanwhile, he cannot afford to think of entertainment; he knows all that matters are results. Just ask Munster.